Vongola Ring Arc : Echo
by RimaAfterlife
Summary: Verde's student makes an invention to track Vongola rings, and it finds signals from Italy. Two sets of Vongola rings? . . . Story on hiatus.
1. Prolouge

_Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn does not belong to me!_

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_**Vongola Ring Arc: Echo - Prologue**_

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It was about time the birds would lay their eggs.

Yumiko was happily watering her flowers in her walled-in front garden. There were fragrant red and white roses, multi-colored daisies, elegant orchids and hydrangeas in full bloom. It was a bright, sunny day, and the optimistic girl wondered whether she could have tea later in her little garden house. Mr. Mellanotte had given her a new brand of imported tea as a gift. Maybe she could try that out later, she mused. It was then that she heard frantic chirping.

She looked around, curious, and then she remembered the robins. A pair of robins had taken up residence in the huge oak tree in the corner of her garden; they have built a nest, and were apparently awaiting eggs. Yumiko lowered her watering can, smiling. Maybe the eggs have arrived at last. She wanted to check.

Wiping her hands on the towel hanging on the summerhouse's balustrade, Yumiko headed towards the oak tree, its leaves rustling gently in the light morning breeze. She looked around to check if anyone was observing her, then started climbing the tree, cautiously using the deep grooves carved around it.

She spotted the branch where she knew the nest was and gently brushed away the leaves screening it from view. The birds were in the nest, jumping around and twittering madly. Yumiko peeked into it and saw half a dozen small white eggs. She smiled again, and said softly, "Congratulations."

However, the birds looked nothing like happy. They jumped up and down the nest and would not go near their eggs. The girl wondered what was making the pair so jumpy. She poked around the eggs.

In the middle of the cluster of eggs sat a small, black ring that glittered dully in the sunlight.

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There's the boss!

Chiara's heart leapt at the sight of her tall, blonde, and handsome boss. It had been months ago since she last saw him. He was always in Japan, helping out the young Vongola. Twice when he came back she was away on a mission, and whenever she had finished it he was gone again. Chiara flinched at the thought of her unluckiness.

She shifted her position from her hiding place behind a bush to get a better view. He was wearing his favourite jacket again, his whip hidden from view. He was talking to their other subordinates, a perpetual smile on his face. Chiara debated to herself, as she always does, about whether she should go out and talk to the boss too. But he probably doesn't even know her. She was, after all, one of the few girls in the family. And she was a mere spy. Sionne and Areveddi were way better that she was.

Old Romario was approaching the boss. There have been many times that she talked to him, usually about the family or about missions. _He _was a lot closer to the boss. The right hand man. Dreamily, she wondered whether he might have happened to mention her to the boss, maybe even praise her abilities as an excellent spy. She shook herself awake. If he had, she wouldn't be spying right now.

"Boss!"

As the boss looked around, Chiara saw his glance pass the bush she was hiding behind. She quickly ducked in panic, her instincts telling her that the tall blonde was still staring at the bush curiously. Her skin tingled, to actually meet the boss in such an awkward time, in this kind of situation. She grimaced at the thought of being caught spying on her own boss.

"Boss?" Came the sound of Romario's dubious voice, and even though she couldn't see it, she knew that Romario had followed the boss's gaze towards her direction. She inwardly prayed that Romario would divert the boss's attention. If ever there was a time that she didn't want to be caught in a spying mission, It was now.

"What's wrong, boss?"

She felt the intensity of the gaze disappear. The boss was now probably facing Romario. She restrained herself from giving a deep sigh of relief, lest she get caught.

"Ah, nothing." The boss gave an enchanting peal of laughter. "What is it, Romario?"

She heard them converse in low voices, but she didn't dare lookup again. After a few moments she heard the boss bid their subordinates goodbye, and when she finally looked up the courtyard was deserted. She sighed heavily. The boss was gone again, and she still hadn't talked to him. Anyway, it was her fault.

Chiara brushed the dirt on her skirt, preparing to leave her hiding place. As she crawled out from behind the bush on all fours she felt her knee hit something hard. She sat up again, rubbing her knee and wincing more in irritation than in pain. She groped around and her hand encountered something small that felt like metal. She raised it in front of her.

In her palm sat a silver blackened ring wherein carved designs were barely distinguishable.

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Eclisse graciously took the envelope handed to her by the café owner that she worked for every other day in the afternoons and during weekends. She murmured a word of thanks to her employer before darting off to the locker rooms. She removed her frilly apron and tossed it to the laundry basket with the others, then took her small blue bag from her locker. The kindly old lady that owned the café had given her the rest of the day off.

She left the establishment through the backdoor and walked swiftly towards the street. She saw her destination just a few blocks away: a small toy store trimmed in white and blue and lined with flowerbeds. She glanced at the window display before going in, taking note of the displayed mechanical airplane and train and a stuffed snow-white bunny. The bell attached above the doorway announced her arrival.

"Oh, hello, Ms. Di Bello." Miss Lidner,the shop owner, acknowledged her with her usual benign smile. The young lady was wiping her counter top, behind, which stood more toys in a vast assortment, in boxes, or not.

Eclisse nodded her greeting then asked quietly, a bit awkward, "The blue bear…"

Miss Lidner already knew what she meant. "Don't worry. It's still there for you." She smiled at the young girl fondly. Eclisse smiled hesitantly in reply. She sometimes felt like the woman saw her in a way she didn't like herself to be seen.

"Such a cute girl," Frances Lidner thought as her regular customer wandered off into her store.

Eclisse went straight to the stuffed toy section, her eyes searching for the huge blue bear she had seen a week ago. She had instantly liked it, almost as big as a real dog, with light blue fur and a sheer ribbon lined in silver around its neck. She had sworn to herself that she would buy it on her next payday. Here she was now.

She finally found the bear, and she lifted it from its shelf where it sat between a stuffed dog and a small yellow bear. It was as cute as ever, and she hugged it ecstatically, barely conscious of the fact that she looked very childish.

Suddenly she noticed a glint of metal around the bear's neck. As she bent to examine it, she realized that a black ring strung on a silver necklace now hung around the bear's neck.

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"More, Please!"

Lilian, Carmella's personal maid, obligingly placed a fresh slice of chiffon cake in front of her childish mistress.

"My lady, you shouldn't eat too much so early in the morning." Lilian reminded her in a worried voice as she poured tea into a china cup.

"I know, I know." Carmella replied even as she continued to consume the delicious mocha cake covered in swirls of icing and topped with dark chocolate. She grinned at Lilian. "I'm off to Matteo's, anyway. Please prepare a suitable dress for me."

"Yes, my lady." Lilian sighed, even though she felt thrilled at the thought of visiting the young Master Matteo, Lady Carmella 's elder cousin. Lilian slipped from the veranda where Carmella was currently having breakfast to comply with the girl's request.

Carmella sighed contentedly. The cake was delightful, although she still thought Matteo created the best ones. She took a sip of her tea, and again recalled that Matteo can make better ones, and name them too! She frowned at the light brown liquid, trying to guess the brand of tea. After a short while she gave up, and set the teacup down on its saucer. She eyed the remaining slices of cake. Oh well, she thought mischievously, Lilian wouldn't know!

She quickly transferred a slice of cake into her own plate and immediately ate a spoonful, sighing with satisfaction as she did so. She made to take another spoonful when her fork encountered something hard. Curious, she broke the cake into pieces and discovered a black ring hidden inside it.

Carmella frowned. Lilian hadn't told her that there was a ring in the cake. Suddenly she got an idea. Matteo had told her once that when the average people hold special occasions or celebrations, they hide a coin or toy in a loaf of bread, and whoever gets it is the lucky one. Her eyes lit up. Maybe this was one of those occasions and she was going to get lucky! She rose from her seat, eager to share her discovery with Matteo.

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It was a bright, peaceful morning, the sky was perfectly blue, fluffy clouds white as snow scattered on every side. There was no other sound aside from the rustling of the leaves in the light morning breeze and the singing of larks.

Matteo was sitting in his own in his lattice, enjoying the silence, happily drinking his morning tea, which was excellent Earl Grey, accompanied with piping hot fresh bread baked by the cook. Carmella had said that she would visit today, and she would probably insist that they have some fun baking cakes, with the sweet tooth she has. Matteo smiled fondly at the thought of his favorite cousin.

As he reached for the jade teapot to refill his cup he suddenly noticed something dark in the remains of his tea. He tilted the cup. And saw that it was a back ring. He turned the cup down defiantly, unconsciously getting into a dark mood. The ring clattered noisily into the saucer.

Matteo laughed wickedly at the thought of how the fool who let the ring into his cup would be punished. Anyone who ruins his morning tea would be severely punished. He sneered cruelly, forgetting everything about the peaceful day and slowly climbing into a rage, even though he didn't realize it himself. He began to snicker.

"Matteo!"

Carmella suddenly flung herself into her cousin, ignoring, or not noticing, the dark, ghostly aura that was surrounding him, although her maid did, and wisely drew back. "Hey, Matteo, what were you doing? Why are you standing up? Are we gonna bake some cakes today, huh?" Carmella asked.

Matteo's devilish aura disappeared just as quickly as it built up in the presence of his childish cousin. He was back into his good-natured self in a thrice, to the maid's relief.

"Ah, nothing, Ella." Matteo replied an angelic smile on his face. "I merely found something in my cup." He pointed at the ring at his saucer.

Carmella 's eyes shone with delight. She showed Matteo a similar ring.

"Look, I've got one just like that! We're a pair!" she cried ecstatically.

Matteo smiled back in reply.

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Eliana yawned.

She was reading an extensive lecture given to her by her master, and each word was slipping from her mind without leaving a single trace. She turned a page, saw how long it went, and quickly became discouraged. She just couldn't see how it could help in her training.

She yawned again. She was sitting under a shady tree just beyond the Varia grounds. Lussuria had just finished creating another one of his 'masterpieces', and there was absolutely no way he could make her wear it.

As she stifled another yawn, Eliana decided that she better find another hiding place where she could sleep in peace, without the danger of being located. Brushing her coat, she prepared to stand up. Suddenly, An ornate silver knife flew out from nowhere and hit the book she was holding, pinning it against a nearby tree. A few loose pages fluttered to the ground.

"Bel!" Eliana yelled in anger. She ran to the ruined lecture, glancing back murderously towards the direction where the knife came from. She pulled the blade out from the pinned book – which fell into a heap on the ground, – thinking that she would kill Bel with it later. The lecture had a puncture in the middle of its pages that ran through its whole, aside from the torn pages lying on the ground. Briefly she wondered whether she would be able to put it back together without her master noticing the damage, then laughed at herself for thinking about such an absurd prospect. Her master was strict, and very critical.

"Damn Bel." Eliana grumbled to herself, as she squatted down to collect the pages, trying to arrange them as they were previously. As she picked the last page off the ground, she noticed something glittering in the grass. Blessed with lively curiosity, she picked it up.

It was a neat silver-black ring, with indistinct carvings around it.

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"What utter rubbish."

Vittoria threw the request for forming another glee club into the box beside her desk. There used to be a trash can in the box's place, and she usually crumpled every document she found useless. But Eliana had insisted she shouldn't crumple every document she came across to, and that she can just put the rejected requests into the box so that she could read through them again in case she overlooked anything. Vittoria was sure, however, that Eliana would reject the glee club idea as well. There was no real need for such a club.

She picked another document from the pile a class representative had delivered to the student council office. She read through it quickly, decided it was another stupid request – to have a swimming party within the school's premises, as the school's pools were first class, – and crumpled it. There was no way she would even reconsider that. The school is not a resort. They could have their party outside the school. She should stop allowing such rubbish letters for the better.

The third letter was more sensible: A request to allow the music club to join a premier competition. She opened her drawer, preparing to draft a response. As she pulled out a piece of paper, something tumbled off from its top.

She took it out and wondered whether the black-silver ring was Eliana's. Why would she put accessories in the drawer? Perhaps she dropped it when she added paper in the drawer. Vittoria placed it on the desktop, deciding that she would return it to her friend. Then she went on with her work.

After another hour, when the pile was nearly gone and the sky was dark outside, Vittoria decided that she could continue her work next week. She stood up and gathered her belongings. On her way to the door, she glimpsed the ring sitting on the table. She could give it back to Eliana if ever she run into her on the way home, or sometime this weekend.

As she took the ring and dropped it in her bag, she can't help but feel, for an unknown reason, that something out of ordinary was about to happen.


	2. Matsuda Rui

_Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!_

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******_Vongola Ring Arc: Echo -_** Matsuda Rui

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**Rima: Whew! Well, I rewrote this chapter and made it longer! It actually took a while for me to finish, but, Enjoy!**

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Hundreds of miles away, In Namimori, Japan, someone was spying on Kyoko, Haru, Lambo and I-pin on their way to Kokuyo land.

"Hahahahaha." The spy was sitting inside a gigantic robot buried underground about twenty feet away from the road that led to the dilapidated Kokuyo land. "Hahahaha." The spy suddenly went into uncontrollable fits of maniacal laughter. It took him several minutes before he got a grip of himself, muttering, "I have to stop doing that…"

He studied his subject through a periscope that was connected to a huge screen inside the robot. It struck through the ground and was rather visible above the grass.

"Main target: Lambo Bovino." He mumbled to himself. "Vongola's lightning guardian. Merely five years old, with no real exceptional abilities," The screen focused on Lambo's horns. "Except his horns, which are detachable, and can absorb electricity that is enough to power a whole town." The periscope rested for a while on I-pin, who was chasing after Lambo. "Also an interesting subject, with the Pin-zu time bomb, but for now, that cow is my objective."

"Lambo Bovino, this is your defeat!" He yelled, and he punched a button set on the dashboard with much gusto.

Flashing red lights suddenly illuminated the whole robot's interior. 'Warning, Warning. Set for self-destruct mode.' The computer announced.

The robot's passenger gulped. That wasn't supposed to happen. A huge net was supposed to shoot out from the robot and capture the lightning guardian. He looked down at the button he had pressed.

It was big red button marked 'Beware'. Maybe adding a self-destruct feature wasn't such a good idea.

'Three, two, one.' The computer chanted.

**BOOM!**

The huge robot exploded and shot off into the air, leaving a thick trail of smoke in its wake.

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Miura Haru looked around.

"Kyoko, did you hear something?" she asked her orange-haired companion.

Kyoko Sasagawa looked up. She had been watching Lambo and I-pin chase each other around in a circle around the two of them. "No." She answered, smiling. "I didn't hear anything. Why?"

Haru looked around again, and laughed. Maybe she imagined it. "Nothing."

"Slow poke! Slow poke!" Lambo jeered at I-pin, before tripping and falling spectacularly on his face. He immediately burst into tears. The girls promptly gathered around him, trying to calm him down.

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In the streets of Namimori…

Tsuna, Gokudera and Yamamoto were walking home from school to the Sawada's residence. There was an upcoming Math test the next day, and Tsuna had asked Gokudera hopefully whether he could tutor him. Gokudera had agreed at once after declaring that the Tenth boss was going to get the best tutoring ever.

Yamamoto had cheerfully pitched in to the study group after Tsuna mentioned it to him, much to the self-proclaimed right hand man's chagrin.

"Does it still hurt, Juudaime?" Hayato Gokudera asked his beloved boss anxiously.

"N-not so much anymore." Tsuna replied, gingerly rubbing his cheek, which was still rather red and sore.

Takeshi Yamamoto, who was walking alongside the pair, laughed in his carefree manner. "That ball did hit rather hard." He said.

"Don't laugh, you Idiot!" Gokudera yelled angrily. "I would have blown up that idiot Takahiro into pieces if the tenth hadn't stopped me! The idiot, kicking the ball so hard! N-not that I question your action, Juudaime." He hastily added. Yamamoto laughed again, his hands behind his head.

"'Ka-san should be home in a short while." Tsuna told his friends, pushing open their house's gate. "She's out shopping with Bianchi."

**BOOM!**

Something came crashing from out of the sky into the Sawada's yard with a loud crash, metal gears flying into various directions. A thick layer of dust rose into the air at the impact, obscuring the object from view.

"HIIII!" Tsuna shrieked. He was thrown backward at the force of the impact and landed painfully on his back.

"Juudaime!" "Tsuna!" The pair was instantly at Tsuna's side. "Are you alright?" The trio looked aghast at the object that fell out from the sky.

"W-what's that?" Tsuna stuttered. His companions merely stared, unable to answer. Suddenly, their eyes caught a sign of movement within the dust cloud.

"L-look!" Tsuna cried, pointing, which was rather unnecessary, since the other two were already staring intently at the silhouette, trying to discern it.

A coughing figure had emerged from the wreck, his figure almost undistinguishable from the thick cloud of dust and smoke…

Gokudera recovered first.

"How dare him, almost hitting the Juudaime!" he cried, charging into the dust cloud.

"Gokudera!" Tsuna cried after Gokudera's back, taking Yamamoto's proffered hand and standing up rather unsteadily.

Gokudera came back almost immediately, dragging a filthy but pretty faced boy – who was looking plainly terrified at the storm guardian – by the collar. Gokudera dragged him roughly to Tsuna, who merely stared.

"Apologize!" Gokudera yelled to the boy, who cowered at his loud voice.

"S-s-s-sorry!" The terrified boy squeaked. "I didn't mean to crash land at your y-yard! I didn't even really want to crash!" he babbled. "It's j-just that I pressed the wrong b-b-button!" He fell on all fours, shaking in fear. "Please don't kill me!" he cried. The dust cloud had settled, showing what would have been a huge, round robot if only it didn't have the look of wreckage.

"U-um..." Tsuna muttered, glancing awkwardly at Gokudera who was watching the boy distastefully. Where did the boy get the idea that they were going to kill him? "We're not going to kill you…"

Yamamoto laughed, obliviously breaking the tension somehow. "That's right! Why would we?"

"J-juudaime!" Gokudera protested. "He at least deserves some punishment! He almost hit you, Juudaime!"

"U-umm…" Tsunastarted to say, trying to make his voice steady.

Reborn suddenly entered the scene, jumping on Tsuna's head. "Ciaossu!"

"R-Reborn!" Tsuna cried, almost falling forward.

"R-Reborn?" the boy looked up curiously at the sound of the name; His mouth fell open at the sight of the Arcobaleno.

"Ah, I know you!" he cried, staggering upright and pointing an accusing finger at the baby sitting standing on Tsuna's head, much to the surprise of the others. "You're that impertinent colleague of master, the one he couldn't help being connected to! You're that bossy, manipulative and boastful guy who always gets in the way of greater people and inventions, the one who hasn't got one shred of hope! You're the one who is a pathetic failure and always has to make everything so complicated in the way of science!" the boy paused to take a breath. "You're – HIIII!"

The baby had his green handgun out and pointed at the boy, who had fallen down on the ground again, a smoking bullet hole between his feet.

"Reborn!" Tsuna cried once again. Despite feeling that the boy had gone quite overboard, he can't help but agree with the bossy part – "OW!"

Reborn had kicked him on the head.

"Dame Tsuna." Reborn said while Gokudera cried "J-Juudaime!" automatically in concern. The arcobaleno pointed his gun carefully at the filthy boy.

"Who are you?" he asked the boy.

The boy, who just then was struggling to get up, had become distracted – that he didn't notice the gun pointed at him – when he heard Gokudera call Tsuna 'Tenth'. He was now gazing at Tsuna, his face alight with hope.

"A-are you the Vo – HIIIII!"

Reborn had shot the ground beside the boy's hand. His eyes were shaded by the brim of his hat. He obviously didn't appreciate getting ignored. The boy scrambled to get up and quickly hid behind the wreck of a machine, looking absolutely terrified.

"Who are you?" Reborn repeated.

"M-M-Matsuda Rui!" The boy cried in a strangely high-pitched voice. "I'm a student of the greatest arcobaleno, Verde! M- master kicked me out because I keep failing to complete or even start researches and can't make fully functional, perfect machines and even destroyed some of master's own works because I was so clumsy!" he said with a wail. "I thought that maybe if I manage to complete master's research on the Vongola's lightning guardian Lambo Bovino, he might forgive me and welcome me back but I pressed the self-destruct button which I shouldn't have made and the robot I was riding in and supposed to use to capture the lightning guardian exploded and I landed here!"

There was silence, broken by Yamamoto laughing and saying : "How did you manage to say all that without taking a breath?" and Gokudera yelling "That's not the point, baseball-head!"

"T-this guy's more pathetic than I am!" Tuna thought, and almost instantly, Reborn stamped on his head.

"W-what was that for Reborn?" Tsuna squeaked.

Reborn smirked. "You're still more pathetic."

"Since when were you able to read minds?" Tsuna asked shrilly.

Reborn just smirked again and then studied Rui carefully, the latter cringed.

"So you were kicked out by Verde?" Reborn asked.

"Yes…" Rui replied, looking a little downcast. Then he regarded Tsuna again with a face full of hope. "Vongola Decimo!" he cried suddenly that Tsuna jumped. "Sawada Tsunayoshi… I-I have no more place to go to... and I…I heard that the Vongola Decimo is very kind-hearted and is willing to help people who are in need and enemy! Umm… well, can I stay at your home for a short while? I promise I won't be a burden at all!" Rui added quickly, his eyes shining.

"U-um…" Tsuna hesitated. Even though he really did want to help the poor guy, he didn't want any more trouble. And Rui most certainly will bring that. Also, the house was already crowded. What with Reborn, Fuuta, Bianchi, I-pin and Lambo.

Suddenly, Gokudera butted in. "Ah, the Juudaime would most certainly help anyone in need! He's great and generous and noble of heart! He'll most certainly give you a place to stay! Isn't that right, Juudaime?" Gokudera cried, turning shining eyes to his beloved, now awkward looking, boss.

Yamamoto joined in. he laughed and said "That's right! Tsuna will most definitely help you!"

"E-Ehhh?" Tsuna stuttered.

"That's the role of a kind boss." Reborn stated, his evil smile in place.

"B-but…" Tsuna started saying.

A distraction called Nana, Bianchi and Fuuta suddenly appeared, all of them laden with groceries.

"My, my." Nana said with her motherly smile in place. "What's happening here?"

Reborn jumped from Tsuna's head. "We're making a research for Tsuna's science project, Mama. We're trying to find out if some metals are biodegradable. We're nearly done." He explained confidently.

"That's obviously a lie!" Tsuna thought in disbelief.

"Is that so!" Nana said,smiling. "Well, come in for a snack first!" she spotted Rui. "My, are you Tsu-kun's new friend?" she asked.

"Yes." Reborn instantly replied. "He's Matsuda Rui. He's helping us experiment."

"F-friend? I saw him for the first time today!" Tsuna protested mentally.

Rui had approached Nana, his eyes alight with hope again. "A-are you Sawada Tsunayoshi's mother?" when Nana nodded with a smile, he asked "Can I stay in your home for a while? I really have no place to go to… and I promise I won't be a burden!" he added again.

"Of course! You can stay as long as you want!" Nana immediately agrees. "Fuuta." She turned to the small brown haired boy beside her. "Why don't you help him clean up and then we can all have a snack?" she said, smiling.

"Yes!" Fuuta immediately replies. He took Rui with his free hand and began dragging him into the house, saying "You better take a bath first. Mama has the top three bath salts here in Japan!"

The others follow the pair into the house at Nana's invitation, until it was only Reborn and Tsuna left outside.

"Well, Tsuna?" Reborn asked his student, smirking.

Tsuna slumps in defeat "What can I do?" he groans.

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"Oh no, I'm late!" Tsuna cried as he hurriedly pulled his school vest on and grabbed his bag. "Oh no, I wasn't able to study for the test either!" he groaned as he remembered how long it took for Rui to settle down, and Gokudera shouting at Yamamoto for being 'To cheerful' all afternoon until it was time to go home. In the end, they weren't able to finish a single thing. Tsuna pulled open the door and stepped out.

"HIIIIII!" Tsuna screamed. Massive axes and a spiked ball were swinging from the ceiling, barring his way to the stairs. When he finally managed to get through, - with a lot of bruise and cuts, - he started down the stairs in relief.

"ARRRGGHH!" the steps fused together and formed a steep slide. Tsuna grabbed wildly for the rail but failed, slid down, right into a mat at the bottom. Before he managed to stand up, it exploded, and he was thrown against the wall. As he slid slowly to the floor, he was run over by Rui and Lambo, Both riding what seemed to be small cars.

"GYUHAHAHAHA!" Lambo cried in delight, while Rui called after Tsuna:

"You alright boss? What do you think of the anti-intruder set-up? Wait and see what I prepared in the kitchen!"

Tsuna could do nothing but groan in defeat.

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**Rima: another long chapter finished! Yay! See ya at chapter 3!**


	3. In Italy

_Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!_**  
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_******Vongola Ring Arc: Echo - **In Italy_

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_"Vongola Decimo."_

_Tsuna turned sharply, alert. He had been walking across this dark expanse of space for a long time, following that voice. But he was getting nowhere. His surroundings hadn't changed. He was in Deathparation mode, but his flames could do nothing to illuminate the place._

_"Vongola…" The voice echoed all around him._

_"Who are you? What do you want?" Tsuna yelled. He had been asking the same question for a long time, but he gained no answer._

_"What's taking you so long, Vongola Decimo?" The voice suddenly chided. Tsuna started. It had become light and playful, like a girl's._

_"What's taking you so long?" It repeated, now in a male's voice. The voice sounded straight ahead. Tsuna started running. He wanted to know who it was… what it wanted._

_"Sawada Tsunayoshi." Tsuna stopped in shock. The voice had changed again. It was still a male's voice, but darker and colder._

_"What's taking you so long?" the voice asked. A circle of light had appeared, making Tsuna squint, shielding his eyes with his blazing gloves. Having stayed so long in the darkness, it was nearly blinding._

_"Who are you?" Tsuna yelled. But no sound escaped him. He felt weak. He was rapidly slipping out of deathparation mode._

_The light was approaching, getting bigger and bigger. There was a hazy silhouette in the middle of the blinding light…_

_Tsuna took a step forward. His feet felt heavy. The movement cost him too much energy. Suddenly, as if there was a line attached to his back, he was being pulled back. He couldn't struggle anymore. He watched as the silhouette started to become clearer, yet farther… a group of people…_

_"We are waiting for you…"_

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Tsuna opened his eyes. He had been having a dream. He couldn't remember… but there was a deep feeling of unsettling unease… What was he dreaming about?...

Tsuna prepared to get up. He still had to get to school… If he was late Hibari would surely beat the life out of him. He grimaced at the thought.

Tsuna tried to lift his hand to rub his eyes, and found that he couldn't. Puzzled, he looked at it.

"HIIIIIII!" Tsuna shrieked. His arm was strapped to a huge machine beside his bed which took up most of the room's space, and there were wires attached to his hand and ring. He tore off the straps and fell out of his bed in panic. Shaking the wires off his hand, He ran out of the room towards the kitchen.

"Good Morning, Tsu-kun!" Nana was the picture of cheer as Tsuna entered the kitchen, still in pajamas and his hair a mess.

Reborn, Bianchi, Fuuta, Lambo, and I-pin were already seated at the table, having breakfast.

"Good morning, Tsuna-nii!" Fuuta greeted. Lambo and I-pin chorused "Good morning!" too.

"Good morning, Juudaime!" Even Rui was seated at the breakfast table.

"T-that thing in my room – !" Tsuna stuttered, unable to complete his own sentence.

"Ah!" Rui eyes lightened up. "You saw my latest invention? It's actually designed to gather data on the vongola ring… I got so curious about it… seeing it for real…" he reeled off, looking ecstatic.

"H-how could I not see?..." Tsuna thought exasperatedly.

"What a shame." Reborn piped in, a cup of espresso in his hand. "You're the boss yet you don't know what's happening in your own house." He said.

"B-but… nobody told me about it!" Tsuna protested. He paused for a few seconds, as if processing what reborn had just said, then cried: "Wait, I'm not a boss!" Reborn merely smirked at him. Tsuna sighed, and turned to Rui.

"Can you remove that thing in my room at least?" Tsuna asked Rui, giving up on Reborn and sighing. "I still have to prepare for school, after all…" Tsuna thought to himself.

"Anything for the Juudaime!" Rui said cheerfully. He fumbled with something around his neck for a while, and then raised a weirdly shaped pendant. It was covered with different minute buttons and miniscule screens.

"I made it last week!" he declared proudly. "Everything I installed in the house is connected to it, so I won't have to find every invention to shut them down or activate it!" he paused for a moment, as though expecting them to cheer and say: 'that's amazing, Rui-kun!'

When no one did as he expected, except stare at him, he lowered his hand and cleared his throat. He started fiddling with the controls with an excited air about him.

"There should be this whirring sound from upstairs…" the others watched as Rui jabbed random buttons. "That means the machine's been deactivated, boss!" he said eagerly.

Finally, when he pressed a small, rectangular red button, there came a loud whirring noise from Tsuna's room.

"There you go boss!" Rui said proudly. "There should just be a metal box left in your room!"

"T-thanks!" Tsuna cried. Thinking that at last something right was going on for the day, he started to leave the kitchen to begin preparing for school.

"W-wait, Juudaime!" Rui cried after him. Tsuna stopped in his tracks and looked back.

"What is it, Rui-kun?" he asked.

Rui looked nervous, as though he had been pondering on how best to tell Tsuna what he planned.

"C-can I come to Namimori Middle school today?" Rui asked earnestly. "I've heard that all the other guardians study there, save for Rokudo Mukuro and Lambo-san of course, and I really want to meet them!" he half-rose from his seat in his excitement. "There's such a lot to know about them! Does the sun guardian really shout senseless things all over the school and then the cloud guardian will beat him up in irritation? Does the storm guardian really have octopus-like hair? I didn't see it clearly when I first met him… can I come, Juudaime?" he looked very eager, with his green eyes sparkling. "Can I?"

"No." Tsuna said quickly, as firmly as he could. "Er… You can't go to Namimori middle without an appointment." He improvised wildly, hoping that Rui would believe him. "You can't go" he was thinking. "Bloodshed might happen." Tsuna shuddered at the thought of the trouble that Rui might start at the school, and then he will be the one to blame. He winced at the thought of Hibari beating him up.

"Oh… Is that so…" Rui looked terribly disappointed and he sat back into his seat. Then he perked up again. "Well, I'll just make the ring tracker! I'll use the data I got from your ring this morning, Juudaime! Aren't the rings very interesting?"

"Er.. Yeah! Good luck!" Tsuna turned heel and started to run back to his room before Rui could find a loophole in his excuse.

There was five seconds of silence.

"HIIIIII!" Tsuna's loud shrieks were punctuated by loud explosions and the sound of machines whirring.

"J-j-juudaime!" Rui bolted upright, shock and realization on his face. "S-s-sorry!" He ran after Tsuna. Soon his shrieks joined the latter's.

"Looks like the traps have been activated again." Reborn said, calmly sipping his espresso.

Nana placed another plate of omelets on the table. "Sounds like they're having fun, aren't they?" She said cheerfully, having not heard what Reborn had said.

Meanwhile, Tsuna and Rui shrieked and ran around as they tried to avoid the swinging blades, exploding floorboards and Gatling guns that Rui had installed upstairs.

[+][+][+][+][+][+][+]

Tsuna groaned.

"Hibari-san really let me have it…" he moaned, sprawled on his desk. Every part of his body ached. "It was only five minutes… and the teachers aren't even here…"

Because of the early catastrophe at home, Tsuna had arrived at school five minutes after the bell had rung, and was greeted by Hibari saying: "I'll bite you to death." After getting beaten an inch from death, he had staggered to the clinic, where Shamal refused to patch him up, and proceeded to his classroom, only to find out that the teachers were having an emergency meeting, and classes haven't even started yet.

"Forgive me, Juudaime!" Gokudera cried again. He had been apologizing to Tsuna ever since discovering that he had been beaten up by Hibari, even though Tsuna kept telling him it wasn't necessary. "I'm the right-hand man and yet I wasn't even able to protect the Boss!" He cried.

Yamamoto merely laughed lightheartedly. "Hibari-san's really serious with his policies, isn't he?" He said, smiling cheerfully.

"Don't laugh, idiot!" Gokudera immediately snarled, his fists clenched.

"Can we come later to your house, Tsuna?" Yamamoto asked,

unperturbed by Gokudera's words. "I think that'll be fun!" He added. Gokudera reluctantly agreed, because it was Yamamoto who suggested it.

"Ah… Sure!"Tsuna replied, already looking forward to it.

At that moment, the homeroom teacher arrived calling: "Go back to your seats!" to the class. Everyone scrambled back to their own seats.

"Later, Tsuna!" Yamamoto waved at Tsuna and returned to his seat. Gokudera sat down, muttering "Idiot baseball head…"

[+][+][+][+][+][+][+]

The rest of the day was the typical 'No-good Tsuna' day. He flunked another test, fell flat on his face during PE, and spilled paint on his shirt during art class.

When the final school bell rang, Tsuna sighed with relief. Yamamoto and Gokudera appeared at his side, ready to go to Tsuna's house to have fun. Walking home, they talked.

"There's another test again…" Tsuna lamented.

Gokudera was full of manic energy again. "That's okay, Juudaime! I'll help you! I'll make it up for last time!" he raised a fist, eyes shining.

"Yeah! I'll help too!" Yamamoto piped up, grinning.

"It would have gone well last time if you weren't there, Idiot!" Gokudera snapped. The black-haired boy merely laughed.

The trio was just turning around a corner when a boy suddenly bumped into Tsuna. Tsuna was thrown off his feet and landed hard on the pavement. Even the other boy lost his balance.

"Juudaime! Are you okay?" Gokudera asked as he helped Tsuna stand up, while Yamamoto gathered Tsuna's books that had fallen out of the latter's bag.

Gokudera rounded angrily at the boy who had bumped Tsuna. "You! Why weren't you looking at where you're walking? Apologize to the tenth!"

"S-sorry!" The boy gasped. "I-I was too intent on the tracker that I – Ah! Juudaime!" It turned out to be Rui. He scrambled to his feet and bowed pompously. "Good Afternoon, Boss!" he greeted.

Tsuna was astonished. "Rui-kun! How did you get here?... Did you ask 'ka-san for directions?"

Rui shook his head, grinning from ear to ear. "No." He raised a rectangular gadget the size of his hand with a wide screen triumphantly. "The tracker is finished!" he cried proudly.

"F-finished?"Tsuna cried, surprised despite himself. "But I thought you only got the data this morning?" As he said this, memories on how Rui had gotten the precious data flooded back to him. Tsuna shook his head vigorously, trying to get rid of the horrible memories.

Rui nodded eagerly. "Well, Yes, Boss! Actually, I was really looking forward to studying the Vongola rings that I already finished the tracker framework way beforehand, and downloaded the super specific maps of Japan and the whole world into it." He explained. "All that was left was for me to obtain the ring data, which I got this morning, and it's ready to use!"

Yamamoto laughed. "That sure is interesting!"

"Yes!" Rui looked elated at Yamamoto's enthusiasm. "Right now it can only track the Vongola rings in general, since that's all the data I've got, but once I get the data from the other rings, the signals can be specified to the flame type, Lightning, Cloud, Storm, Rain …" he titled his head to the ring glinting on Gokudera's finger and at Yamamoto's, which hung on a necklace around his neck.

"Rubbish! Who needs things like that?" Gokudera muttered.

"For meetings? Gatherings, maybe?" Yamamoto suggested."We can use it to find the others!" he said optimistically.

"Well… Yeah…" Tsuna agreed. He thought of the time when they visited the future and a tracker had helped them find their allies. "It can be useful…"

Yamamoto laughed, delighted at Tsuna's agreement. Gokudera looked stumped, and he glared at Yamamoto.

"Isn't it wonderful?" Rui cried enthusiastically. "Once I've finished programming it, it can also store the data of the guardians! Oh, in fact, it can be programmed to do a lot of things… store literature, games, songs, other forms of entertainment… Oh, yeah, it can work on satellite!" He started to look animated again. "How can I forget that? If you're super close to the one who owns the ring, you can use the built in radar to find that person, but for long distance, you can use satellite mode!" he cried proudly.

"You just press this button over here to switch between radar and satellite mode, and you can find the rings in the map of Japan, Asia, and the whole world, depending on how you want it! Well," Rui added as an afterthought. "Since all of the guardians are here in Japan, the tracker will just show a cluster of white dots in the area… (It's white since I haven't got specific data yet, but it'll become differently colored once I get enough data) Still," He exclaimed. "Isn't it amazing?" With that, he pressed the button on the top-right side of the tracker.

There was silence.

Rui stood like a statue, suddenly looking shocked and pale, staring at the tracker's screen. His wide grin had vanished. His eyes were round in astonishment.

"Rui-kun?" Tsuna asked timidly after a while. "Is something wrong?"

Verde's student didn't reply. He just stood there and stared at his invention, apparently too stunned to speak.

Tsuna, Yamamoto and Gokudera leaned in; trying to see what had appeared on the screen that had shocked Rui so much.

On the screen was the World map. Just like Rui had said, a cluster of small white dots were flashing on the image on Japan. But what surprised them and apparently also surprised Rui was the second cluster that was flashing on the screen.

There was another cluster of small white dots, blinking on the image of Italy.

"I-impossible…" Rui finally broke the horrible silence. "E-exactly the same…"


	4. Echo?

_Disclaimer: Don't own the characters or the anime, just the story!_

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**Vongola Ring Arc : Echo - Echo?**

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"I-impossible…" Rui finally broke the horrible silence. "E-exactly the same…"

There was another pause.

_"Exactly the same?"_ Tsuna thought, puzzled.

"Hey, there's another one!" Yamamoto suddenly said. Then he laughed.

"Rings?" Gokudera exclaimed, gritting his teeth. "They must be enemies!"

"… U-umm…" Tsuna muttered. _What does Rui mean, exactly the same?_Vongola's next boss wondered.

"Tha-that shouldn't be possible!" Rui cried in a faint voice. "The tracker works solely on the Vongola ring data! It's the only data I've got installed, the data I got this morning when I attached the Boss' ring to my machine! It may not be that specific yet, since it can't differentiate the flame type, but still, it should only track Vongola rings!"

Silence.

"A-are you saying… those are… Vongola rings?" Tsuna asked.

Rui gave a start, as if surprised by the question, and then he looked flustered.

"Wha… I… I… Well… it seems that the signals in Italy are weaker…" He had the look of someone trying to regain his composure. "I-I mean, the lights are a bit faint and… I… I don't know…" Rui mumbled helplessly. _This was never supposed to happen…_

"Then we have to find them!"

Reborn suddenly arrived, landing on Yamamoto's shoulder. "Ciaossu!"

For a second Tsuna thought Reborn looked serious. Then his brain focused on what Reborn was suggesting. "Ehh?" He cried.

"If those are really Vongola rings," Reborn said. "Then we have to find them. And, if there are, their owners."

"What? No way! No way!" Tsuna immediately protested. "We can't do that! No way! I won't go to Italy just to look for some rings! That will surely just mean trouble! NO WAY!"

"Those aren't just SOME rings, Tsuna." Reborn said sternly. "Those could be VONGOLA rings."

"But…" Gokudera interrupted, sounding doubtful. "I thought the Vongola rings should be special? Could there be copies made?" The silver haired boy asked.

Reborn regarded him with a stare. It would be a piece of cake to convince Tsuna, but maybe it was not the same for the Storm guardian.

. "The Vongola rings _are_supposed to beone of a kind." Reborn said slowly "I don't think there are any copies that have been made with the _exact_same properties as it. At least, none that I know of." He said. "But then, how can you explain the signals on the tracker? If the tracker is programmed to only track Vongola rings, why is there another group in Italy?"

"Err…" Gokudera trailed off.

"So, we can say that those are Vongola rings?" Yamamoto asked. "Uh… weaker… like, echoes?"

"Well, we don't know yet, do we? They could just be rings with _very_ similar properties. Rui should still confirm his data… And that's why we should go to Italy, to find out too!" Reborn declared. He turned to Rui.

Rui looked quite troubled. "WelL.. I'm not against confirming any of the data… although I can swear that it's accurate… The rings in Italy really are there… only weaker… "

"No!" Tsuna stubbornly insisted. "Just let Rui confirm his data!"

Reborn looked at him. "Okay… What if those rings happen to be owned by enemies…" He said slowly, letting Tsuna absorb every word. "What if they got some data about the Vongola rings and made weaker copies… If they have rings with the same power as the Vongola's, they could come to challenge us, attack us… Before Rui's finished with confirming his data. Then there's going to be another ring battle… another conflict… And even if those rings don't have any owners yet… what if they fall into the wrong hands?"

"We can't let that happen!" Gokudera cried.

"R-ring battle?" Tsuna squeaked, as horrible memories assailed him.

"Yeah!" Reborn said. "It could happen anytime, and who knows just who could be dragged into it…"

Tsuna started to hesitate. _I don't want Kyoko and Haru and the others to get involved…_

Rui looked on, amazed at how Reborn knew Tsuna so well that he could easily manipulate the Tenth Vongola Boss.

"Well Tsuna?" Reborn asked the brunette, smirking.

"O-o-okay…" Tsuna stammered.

"That's the spirit, Juudaime!" Gokudera said eagerly. "We won't let anyone dare challenge our family!"

"Way to go, Tsuna!" Yamamoto cheered.

"B-but…" Tsuna said, still hesitant. "What will we tell okasan and the others? We can't just go to Italy! We'll miss our classes and everything just to find some rings… ?"

"Come to think of it," Reborn suddenly said, "We have to make sure that all the guardians will come. After all, they posses the Vongola rings." Apparently he's not listening to the brunette.

"Ehh?" Tsuna cried out. "W-What? Why? Eh… HIbari-san will never agree to come! He doesn't like being with crowds, or being around us… And he really wouldn't come once he learns that all we're going to do is look for some rings… He might just beat us up! And Ryohei nii-san… If he comes… Kyoko…"

_'Kyoko-chan might come too…'_ Tsuna thought. It struck him as horrible._ 'Nooo!'_

Reborn merely smirked. "I'll take care of it." He said. There was that dangerous gleam in his eyes once again.

"B-but…" Tsuna stammered.

"Don't worry about it." Reborn said. "Why don't you see to your packing?" he leapt from Yamamoto's shoulder and disappeared.

"P-packing?" Tsuna said. "Immediately? What do you mean, Reborn?"

_Reborn's POV_

Reborn jumped absentmindedly from fence to fence, looking for an entrance to one of his 'many secret headquarters'. He had to place a call to the Ninth immediately, tell him that the future boss was coming.

He recalled yet again what had just happened today.

*_f__lashback*_

Reborn had been worried on how to explain to Tsuna that he had to go to Italy immediately, without the boy's instant refusal. As his tutor, he knew that the boy absolutely hated violence, but the family was facing a crisis, and as the future boss, he had to be there with his guardians. The recent incidents have been highly suspicious and dangerous, and no one had enough power or authority to stop it but Tsuna and his guardians. They may still be young, but nevertheless they are the possessors of the Vongola rings' power.

He had gone along earlier that afternoon, after receiving that urgent call from Italy, looking for Tsuna. He had to get Tsuna to Italy immediately, and he was thinking on how best to disclose it to the young boss. Maybe the answer would present itself when he's already there.

Classes had just finished. Tsuna's probably going home with Yamamoto and Gokudera.

He spotted the trio on a corner. As he approached he saw that even Rui, that damn Verde's student, was also there. His lips curved into a smirk. This boy and his inventions never fail to amuse him.

As he drew nearer, he overheard their conversation. It seems that Rui has finished the tracker that he's been talking about this morning. Quite quick. Great progress. He listened in as the inventor described his gadget. Well thought about…

Suddenly the quartet fell silent, staring at the tracker. _Hmm?_

"I-impossible…E-exactly the same…"

"Hey, there's another one!"

"Rings?"

Another signal?

"… U-umm…"

"Tha-that shouldn't be possible! The tracker works solely on the Vongola ring data! It's the only data I've got installed, the data I got this morning when I attached the Boss' ring to my machine! It may not be that specific yet, since it can't differentiate the flame type, but still, it should only track Vongola rings!"

"A-are you saying… those are… Vongola rings?"

"Wha… I… I… Well… it seems that the signals in Italy are weaker… I-I mean, the lights are a bit faint and… I… I don't know…"

A second set of weaker Vongola rings? He couldn't quite comprehend how that could be…

This is a very good reason to go to Italy.

"Then we have to find them!"

_*end of flashback*_

Convincing Tsuna had been a piece of cake. All that was left now was to notify the main headquarters and the other guardians, and arrange an excuse in school and their mode of transportation.

But…

The second set of signals in the tracker had been in Italy too…

Could this and the recent incidents at the main headquarters be connected?

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**Rima: Yosh! Another chapter finished! Took me a really long time… *stretch***

**Reborn: *cocking his gun* All those explanations are rubbish. How can the readers understand what's happening?**

**Rima: *cowering* I – I did my best… G – gomenasai!… *mutter* anyway, they're VERY free to question me, if only they'll review the story…**

**BANG!**

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**The next chapter might not be for quite some time…**

**Review Please!**


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